1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to head supports for use with baby seats, particularly though not exclusively car baby seats.
2. Prior Art
A car baby seat generally comprises a shell of rigid plastics material molded into a rough L-shape with its sides curved round to form a partial enclosure. The shell has straps to hold the baby in it, and is usually provided with a layer of padding material over most of its inner surface. The shell also has fittings by means of which it can itself be strapped firmly in position in a car; depending on circumstances, the seat may be fitted facing either forwards or backwards.
Such a baby seat is necessarily made to take babies of a substantial range of weights and ages. (Typical ranges are from birth to 4 years, or from 6 months to 6 years.) The seat gives a reasonably good fit for children at the top end of the range, and is therefore significantly over-sized for children at the lower end of the range. Further, some children under some conditions will be alert and sit up by themselves, while others will under some conditions be sleepy and will tend to slump.
Baby seats normally hold the child in a sitting position which is fairly close to upright. A child which slumps, particularly if it is small for the seat, may be made uncomfortable, mainly because the seat will not provide adequate support for the head, which will tend to sag to the side. This is particularly likely with very young children. It has therefore become known to provide head rests for such baby seats.
In one known baby seat, the head rest is incorporated as part of the seat, and is slidable to allow it to be adjusted to match the size of the child. This head rest comprises a pair of support elements, one on each side of the child's head, projecting forward from the rear of the seat molding.
Most baby seats, however, do not incorporate a built-in head rest. A variety of head rests have therefore become available, for use with such baby seats. Such head rests generally consist of a backing element carrying support means which project forward from it. The backing element is placed against the rear of the seat molding so that the child leans back against it, and may extend down to the base area of the seat molding. This results in the support means (which typically extend in an arc around the sides and top of the child's head) projecting forward around and supporting the child's head.
The support means normally contain resilient foamed plastics material, and the backing element is thin and relatively, rigid. The whole head-rest is normally covered in relatively impervious cloth or similar material, which is normally either uniformly colored or patterned with a printed pattern.
The main object of the present invention is to provide an improved head rest for a baby seat.